Patrick Warburton portrays Lemony Snicket in the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Biography
Patrick Warburton is known to many for the role of "Puddy" in the hit NBC comedy "Seinfeld," the laconic, enigmatic, quirky Saab salesman and Elaine's boyfriend. Warburton starred for 7 seasons on the hit CBS comedy "Rules of Engagement" with David Spade, Oliver Hudson, and Megyn Price about two couples and their single friend, all at different stages in their relationships dealing with the complications of dating, commitment, and marriage. He has starred in NBC's short lived sitcom series entitled "Crowded," premiered Sunday, March 20th, about an empty nest couple (Warburton & Carrie Preston) who find out their adult daughters want to move back home with them. Patrick also played "Guy" in the international blockbuster comedy Ted and completed shooting the highly anticipated sequel Ted 2 where he reprises his role. Warburton starred on the ABC hit comedy "Less than Perfect," as "Jeb Denton," an opinionated network anchorman; and on the hit show "NewsRadio" as "Johnny Johnson" the unscrupulous business rival who takes over the station. Warburton starred in Disney's major motion picture, live action comedy Underdog, as the archenemy "Cad," based on the 1964 cartoon television series. He is also perhaps the busiest voiceover artist in Hollywood for his many characters including the role of the paraplegic and over-zealous cop, "Joe Swanson," on the hit comedy "Family Guy."
Warburton was the lead in the independent film The Civilization of Maxwell Bright, in which he stared as a vicious and self-destructive anti-hero who desperately needs to save his soul. The film won numerous festival awards in which Warburton captured Best Actor at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, New York VisionFest, and the Boulder International Film Festival. The film's other honors include Viewer's Choice at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, the Special Jury Award at WorldFest Houston and at the Florida Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize at the Florida Film Festival, and the Vision Award for David Beaird at WorldFest Houston. This festival favorite is essentially a modern re-telling of "Beauty and the Beast" that explores what happens when a modern Neanderthal is locked in close proximity with a kind and loving woman. Written and directed by David Beaird, The Civilization of Maxwell Bright co-stars Jennifer Tilly, Marie Matiko, Simon Callow and Eric Roberts. In addition, Warburton starred in the independent feature film I'll Believe You alongside Fred Willard, Thomas Gibson, and Chris Elliott, a comedy for young adults/teens about a hunt for an alleged alien living in a small town after a mysterious phone call is received on a radio broadcast. The film was released in April of 2007 to 1,500 theaters nationwide, quite the accomplishment for a small independent film.
To complement his animated films, Warburton voiced the hit cartoon series "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" and the animated feature Bee Movie with Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Uma Thurman and Oprah Winfrey. He played the character "Rip Smashenburn" in the UPN animated series "Game Over," the voice of "Brock Samson" in the animated adult series "The Venture Brothers," and the voice of "Mr. Barkin" on the Disney Channel's "Disney's Kim Possible." He plays the character of Ian, "the ultimate alpha-male," in the Sony animated film Open Season opposite Ashton Kutcher and Martin Lawrence. Playing in both regular theaters and Imax 3-D, it was a box office smash on its opening week as #1 and held top spots following its debut. Warburton's voice can also be heard alongside that of Sarah Michelle Geller, Sigourney Weaver, George Carlin, Andy Dick, and Freddie Prinze Jr. in the animated feature film Happily N'ever After, from the producers of Shrek, where he plays the voice of "Prince Humperdink." As the voice of the "Savior of the Universe" in Disney's animated Saturday morning TV series "Buzz Lightyear," Warburton's voice graced the big screen in the Disney animated film The Emperor's New Groove, Kronks New Groove and "The Emperor's New School."
Warburton started his television career appearing regularly on the CBS sitcom "Dave's World," with Harry Anderson and Mesach Taylor and originally guest-starred on "Seinfeld" as the painted-faced New Jersey Devils' fan and Jerry's mechanic, only to become one of the show's funniest fixtures. He also did commercial spots for American Express (as the voice of "Superman" alongside Seinfeld), Cadillac, and M&Ms. Warburton starred in The Woman Chaser, which received critical acclaim at the prestigious New York Film Festival and The Sundance Film Festival, as well as opposite Sam Neill in The Dish, an Australian production about the first man on the moon. Barry Sonnenfeld directed Warburton in the Columbia Tri Star half-hour comedy "The Tick," which continues to have a huge cult following since its release on DVD. The show gained its popularity with audiences due to its relaxed, adult-friendly comedy. "The Tick", in addition to the DVD, has released action figures, t-shirts, and Quaker Oat Life cereal boxes with "The Tick" character adorning the cover. He also paired up with Tim Allen in Sonnenfeld's feature films Big Trouble and Joe Somebody, and also appeared in Scream 3 and Men in Black 2.
A native Californian, Patrick grew up in Huntington Beach and resides in Ventura County with his wife Cathy and four children Talon, Alexandra (Lexie), Shane, and Gabriel. When talking about his children, Patrick's face lights up as he describes them as the ultimate joy and love of his life. With what little spare time he has, Patrick gets in a game of golf or tennis, does activities with his children, and spends time in his cabin on the Rogue River in Oregon with his family. Warburton also hosts the annual charity golf tournament The Warburton a Celebrity Tournament to benefit St. Jude Children's Hospital each year in Palm Springs, CA.[1]
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Barry Sonnenfeld wanted to cast Warburton as Lemony Snicket incredibly quickly; Warburton simply got a text from Sonnenfeld that sound "Could you come up to Vancouver and work on a show for six months?" Warburton was originally not excited for the character, for as a narrator he wouldn't be able to interact with other characters much, but the more he found out about Snicket, the more he realized that he was a wonderful character.
It was difficult for Warburton to memorize Snicket's lines due to his different way of speaking, and they had to be careful to make sure he did not seem goofy in his approach to narration. He also felt that while he was usually acting alone, he was expressing everything to the viewer, and thus could focus on them.
When Lemony gave a speech about how all he had of his life was his tattoo, Warburton decided to get the tattoo himself, and got his first tattoo at the age of fifty-two. [2]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Life Is a Banquet | Mike | |
1987 | Master of Dragonard Hill | Richard Abdee | |
1987 | Dragonard | Richard Abdee | |
1991 | Scorchers | Balford | |
1992 | Battle in the Erogeneous Zone | Pool Boy | Short |
1994 | Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story | Scott Mersereau | |
1994 | Dickwad | Charlie's Brother | Short |
1996 | American Strays | Rookie Cop | |
1998 | Blind Men | ||
1999 | The Woman Chaser | Richard Hudson | |
1999 | The Apartment Complex | Morgan | |
2000 | Scream 3 | Steven Stone | |
2000 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins | Little Green Men | Voice |
2000 | The Dish | Al Burnett | |
2000 | The Emperor's New Groove | Kronk | Voice |
2001 | Camouflage | Horace Tutt, Junior | |
2001 | Dirt | Vincent | |
2001 | Joe Somebody | Mark McKinney | |
2002 | Run Ronnie Run | Head of Gay Conspiracy | |
2002 | Big Trouble | Police Officer Walter Kramitz | |
2002 | Men in Black II | Agent Tee | |
2002 | Men in Black Training Video: UK | Agnet T | Short |
2002 | Men in Black Training Video: Japan | Agent T | Short |
2002 | Men in Black Training Video: Germany | Agent T | Short |
2002 | Men in Black Training Video: Austrailia | Agent T | Short |
2003 | I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia | Jack | |
2003 | These Guys | Bud | |
2004 | A Uniform Used to Mean Something... | Superman | Short
Voice |
2004 | Home on the Range | Patrick | Voice |
2004 | Hindsight is 20/20 | Superman | Short
Voice |
2004 | The Ruining | Bubba | |
2004 | Bob Steel | Rudy Buckmaster | |
2005 | The Civilization of Maxwell Bright | Max Bright | |
2005 | Rebound | Larry Burgess Sr. | |
2005 | Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story | Joe Swanson | Voice |
2005 | Sky High | Royal Pain | Voice |
2005 | Chicken Little | Alien Cop | Voice |
2005 | Kronk's New Groove | Kronk | Voice |
2005 | Hoodwinked! | Wolf W. Wolf | Voice |
2006 | The Wild | Blag | Voice |
2006 | Open Season | Ian | Voice |
2006 | I'll Believe You | Dr. Seth Douglass | |
2006 | Happily N'Ever After | Prince Humperdink | Voice |
2007 | Underdog | Cad | |
2007 | Bee Movie | Ken | Voice |
2008 | Get Smart | Hymie | |
2008 | Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control | Hymie | |
2008 | Space Chimps | Titan | Voice |
2009 | Rock Slyde | Rock Slyde | |
2009 | Made for Each Other | Mack Mackenzie | |
2009 | The Action Hero's Guide to Saving Lives | Ace Mulligan | Short |
2009 | Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show | Cal Johnson | Voice
Short |
2010 | Flicka 2 | Hank McLaughlin | |
2010 | Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back | Titan | Voice |
2011 | The Little Engine That Could | Caboose | Voice |
2011 | Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil | The Big Bad Wolf | Voice |
2011 | Star Tours: The Adventures Continue | G2-4T | Voice
Short |
2011 | Rollercoaster Safety with Patrick Warburton | Short | |
2012 | Yahoo! News/Funnie or Die GOP Presidential Online Internet Cyber Debate | Rick Perry | Short |
2012 | Sophomore | Mr. McKee | |
2012 | Ted | Guy | |
2013 | Movie 43 | Dad | |
2013 | Bad Milo | Phil | |
2013 | Jacked Up | Jack Wheeler | |
2014 | Mr. Peabody & Sherman | Agamemnon | Voice |
2014 | Beyond Beyond | The Feather King | English Version
Voice |
2014 | Behaving Badly | Principal Basil Poole | |
2014 | School Dance | Prairie Puff Man | |
2014 | Planes: Fire & Rescue | Pulaski | Voice |
2014 | The Extendables | Stray Butler | |
2014 | Playing It Cool | Hedge Funder | |
2015 | Hoovey | Jeff Elliott | |
2015 | Divine Access | Bob | |
2015 | Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant | Captain Bryce | |
2015 | Ted 2 | Guy | |
2015 | Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser | Foggle / Guardian Angel | |
2016 | Elephant Kingdom | Human King | Voice |
2016 | Better Watch Out | Robert Lerner | |
2017 | The Reason You Haven't Had Sex in So Long | Twighlight Zone Host | Short |
2017 | Austin Found | Chief Williams | |
2017 | Animal Crackers | Brock | Voice |
2019 | Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs | Magic Mirror | Voice |
2020 | Love-40 | Dentist | |
Inheritance | Archer Monroe | ||
2020 | Seal Team | Geraldo | |
Darwin in Malibu | Thomas Huxley |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | The Paper Chase | One Episode | |
1990 | Quantum Leap | Blaster | One Episode |
1991 | Anything But Love | One Episode | |
1992 | Grapevine | Billy | One Episode |
1992 | Northern Exposure | Glenn | One Episode |
1992 | Murphy Brown | Bo | |
1993 | Mad About You | Sam | One Episode |
1993 | Nurses | Chuck | One Episode |
1993 | Designing Women | Craig | |
1993 | Love & War | Duane | |
1995 | Grace Under Fire | Meter Man | One Episode |
1995 | Ellen | Jack / Brent | |
1995-1997 | Dave's World | Eric | |
1998 | House Rules | Dan | One Episode |
1995-1998 | Seinfeld | David Puddy | |
1998 | Maggie Winters | Sonny Mayfield | |
1998-1999 | Hercules | Agamemnon / Lastrigon | Voice |
1998-1999 | The Secret Files of the Spyogs | Additional Voices | |
1998-1999 | NewsRadio | Johnny Johnson | |
2000 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Eddie "Steady" Everett | One Episode |
2000 | Teacher's Pet | Security Guard | One Episode |
2000-2001 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | Buzz Lightyear / Little Green Men | Voice |
2001-2002 | The Tick | The Tick | |
2002 | Malcolm in the Middle | Burt Landon | |
2002 | The Twilight Zone | Azoth the Avenger | |
2002-2003 | 8 Simple Rules | Nick Sharpe | |
2003 | Happy Family | Bill Harris | One Episode |
2004 | Game Over | Ripley "Rip" Smashenburn | |
2005-2006 | The Batman | Cash Tankinson | |
2003-2006 | Less Than Perfect | Jeb Denton | |
2005-2006 | The X's | Mr. X | |
2006 | The Disney Channel Games | Kronk | Voice |
2002-2007 | Kim Possible | Mr. Steve Barkin / Franklin Barkin | Voice |
2007 | Robot Chicken | Big Jim / The Riddler / Seuss Dad | Voice |
2007 | Biker Mice from Mars | A-Bomb | One Episode |
2006-2008 | The Emperor's New School | Kronk / Guardian Angel / Devilkin | Voice |
2007-2008 | Tak & the Power of Juju | Lok | Voice |
2009 | The Fairly OddParents | Agent #1 / Agent #2 | |
2009-2010 | The Cleveland Show | Joe Swanson | |
2011 | Kid vs. Kat | Buck Diamond | One Episode |
2011 | Archer | Rip Riley | |
2012 | The Penguins of Madagascar | Elmer | One Episode |
2010-2012 | CollegeHumor Originals | General America / Bowser / President Binford | |
2012 | The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange | Big Mike Watermelon | One Episode |
2010-2013 | Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated | Sheriff Bronson Stone / Clown | |
2007-2013 | Rules of Engagement | Jeff Bingham | |
2014 | Inside Amy Schumer | Patrick | One Episode |
2014 | Sequestered | Governor Bennett | |
2015 | Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja | Ninja 2005 | One Episode |
2015 | Moonbeam City | Commander Blade H. Tate | One Episode |
2016 | Crowded | Mike Moore | |
2015-2016 | TripTank | Cop / Steve's Dad / Officer | |
2018 | Skylanders Academy | Flynn | One Episode |
2003-2018 | The Venture Bros. | Brock Samson / Brock Samson No. 2 | Voice |
2017-2019 | A Series of Unfortunate Events | Lemony Snicket | |
2019 | The Orville | Lt. Tharl | |
2017-2019 | Puppy Dog Pals | Captain Dog / Worker #1 / Worker | Voice |
1999-2019 | Family Guy | Joe Swanson / Various | Voice |
2018-2020 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | General Rick Stoner |